"No, unfortunately I don't. But then you know that your father and I don't normally associate."
He kissed her cheek. "I know. You remind him too much of Mother."
"I'm just lucky that he still allows an old lady to live in the castle when he has no reason to."
"He knows there would be mutiny if he kicked you out."
"I heard your sister was home. Have you seen her?"
"I have. She was going to run by the infirmary first."
Tuva frowned. "For what?"
"Did you know that she was going to be a doctor?" If Larisa wanted her to know about the blood tests, then she could tell their grandmother herself.
She shook her head. "I haven't talked to Larisa in many years. It'll be good to catch up. And good for her for following her passion."
Luke sipped his coffee. "Her passion?"
"She was always healing something or another when you were kids. Being a doctor is a perfect profession for her."
Larisa swept into the kitchen. "Grandma!"
Luke watched as they embraced. "Guess I have to share her now that you're back."
"Oh, stop," Larisa teased. "It's so good to see you."
They chatted about life in general and being a doctor, before Tuva sobered. "You've seen your father?"
"I have," Larisa answered. "It doesn't look good for him."
"Can you do anything for him?"
"I have to figure out what's wrong with him first," Larisa responded. "And time is short, so I don't know if I'll be able to or not."
Luke watched his sister dance all around the topic. While he doubted that Tuva would have a motive for poisoning the king, Larisa had no reason to trust her just because she was family.
As they chatted, Luke tried to think of any conflict Ardec had been a part of. As king, he held court, and someone always had to be the loser, but he couldn't remember hearing about any cases that had gotten nasty
But you were spending all of your time with Sarah.
While he didn't regret it, he knew that not paying attention to his royal duties was about to bite him in the ass. He knew the basics of being king, but he definitely didn't know the details.
One thing he did know was that he could pardon Sarah's family so they could come home. The silver lining of a dark cloud.
"Luke?"
He brought his attention back to his sister. "What?"
"What are you daydreaming about?"
"Being king. And severely lacking in training."
Tuva chuckled. "All of your time away is about to be your undoing."
"Where were you?" Larisa asked with a quizzical expression.
He sat down at the table with them. "I've been seeing someone. I might as well come clean now, because you will both henpeck me until I tell you anyhow."
